Retirement Savings....

[EthansMom]

DH and I are in our mid-30s and hope to retire in about 20 years, when our second child graduates from college. We have over $200,000 split between 401ks, IRAs, and taxable mutual funds. We're currently putting away over 20% of our household income (including the company match) toward retirement.

Really, we started small... just contributed enough to get the company match when we started our first jobs out of college. With each raise, we increased the amount we contributed toward retirement. When DH had a job that didn't offer a 401k, we maxed out IRAs and put money into taxable mutual fund accounts. When we get "extra" or "found" money, we split it between spending it now, retirement accounts, and paying off debt.

Our goals are to max out the kids' Education Savings Accounts, have the house paid off by the time the kids are done with their 4 year degrees, and have enough money to retire when the kids are finished with their 4 year degrees. We'd love to retire when we're young enough that we'd have the energy to travel, volunteer, etc.... but haven't ruled out the possibility of working part-time in retirement.

 

[KarenAylwood]

That's a great start! You sound exactly like me when I was your age. I'm 39 now....ancient . If you continue to save and invest like that at your age.....you'll retire as a wealthy woman. Just keep doing what you are doing, increase your contribution with raises like you plan until you hit roughly 15% of your salary and never-ever touch it!

dvcgirl~ Thanks for the kind words! I hope to be at 15% sometime between a year or two from now. If I get the raise I'm expecting, I should be able to afford it. Your post about the statistics was great to read. Very scary, I must admit, but inspires me to keep saving.

The idea of 43% of people over 55 having so little in their retirement savings is definitely frightening. Although, the percentage of those people with pensions is probably much higher than those that are younger. The statistic for the age bracket of 35-44 is actually much scarier because the percentage of those without pensions is probably much greater. I know my company significantly decreased their pension benefits, and cut them out totally for those entering the company.

I'm not planning on having a pension and I am preparing for very little social security, which is why it's so much more important now than it's ever been to start saving early!!

 

[disneysteve]

Actually, knowing amount saved and age doesn't help unless we also know the current income.

Someone who is 30 and has $100,000 saved might be in great shape if they earn 25K but not so much if they earn 200K.

 

[Lorikr65]

I'm a SAHM and my husband has a fidelity account from before we were married which has almost $100,000. I don't feel we need quite as much as others (although I could be wrong) because he also will have a pension in 10 years when he retires after being on the police force for 20 years. Although I realize it is very important to supplement that.

 

[MrsPete]

So...their findings show only 23% over 100K, our poll so far shows 58%.

This leaves two possibilities: Either a lot of DISers are full of it (which seems unlikely -- you don't know me personally, so what's my motive to lie?); or this board attracts people who are more interested in finances than the average person, and as a result, they've saved more for their retirement -- I think that's a very likely scenerio.

Age 35-44:
More than 250K: 9%

I fall into this category. My husband and I've been married not quite 17 years, and we've been saving religiously as long as we've been married (between our wedding and our house, we started our married life with $200 to our names). Our combined income only crossed the 100K mark two years ago, and we've also paid off a house and saved for our two daughters' college educations during these 17 years. The best things a young person can possibly do to ensure a comfortable retirement are to live frugally, avoid consumer debt, and max out the 401K from the very first paycheck.

 

[Steven41782]

The statistics on this thread are definately skewed. I think that people on these boards are financially savvy, but also people who are 50 with $17,000 in retirement may be reluctant to post that info.

Just for the record I am 24 (just out of college) and have a whopping $2200 (some of that has not vested)... but likethe previous poster I plan to up it 2-3 percentage points with each raise I get.

Steven

 

[deide71]

See, this is why I think I need a good financial planner...I'm soooo confused.

DH and I are 35. Currently we have a 401k from DH's former employer with a value of just over 60k. I work for a formerly government owned hospital and I am in a pension that places 13% of my annual income into it. (I have worked there for 11 years.) The scary part about it is:
1.) It's a pension, and we have all read the stories of companies renegging on their pension liabilities.

2.) The county that owns my Hospital recently spun it off into a privately governed entity. We are no longer county employees. Many think this is the first step in the county selling the hospital alltogether. This has been a trend around the nation. So what happens to my pension?

3.) My DH recently switched jobs (and professions) and now works for the same county I used to, and is part of the same pension program.

I am worried enough about this that I have started an traditional IRA account as well as a Roth (both in indexed funds as I am not investment savvy) with Fidelity. I fund the traditional IRA just enough to get us out of the 28% tax bracket, and fund the remainder into the Roth up to the max...if I can reach it.

We also have 3 children, and we have no separate college savings for them, I am hoping to help than with $$ from the Roth.

Confused? Welcome to the world of amateur finance!

 

[disneysteve]

I am worried enough about this that I have started an traditional IRA account as well as a Roth (both in indexed funds as I am not investment savvy) with Fidelity. I fund the traditional IRA just enough to get us out of the 28% tax bracket, and fund the remainder into the Roth up to the max...if I can reach it.

That's an interesting method. I guess if you are right on the cutoff for the tax bracket, that could work. Just remember the IRA max is $4,000 no matter how many different IRA accounts you might have. So if you put $1,000 in the traditional, you can only put $3,000 in the Roth.

Also, don't berate yourself. The fact that you chose an index fund shows that you ARE investment savvy.

 

[meandtheguys2]

Being over forty, we have no choice but to stash as much as possible back. My husband would like to retire at 60.

 

[KelNottAt]

We're 43 and 42.

My 401(k) is almost 20 years old: $315,000
DH has a variety of accounts (401k rollover, self-directed 401k, SEP IRA, and something else, I think). He has about $250,000 saved.

Since all our grandparents lived well into their 90's I doubt we'll retire before 62. Need as much time as possible to save enough to support ourselves for 30 years.

 

[Marie17]

I also think this poll is skewed. On any given day (actually every minute) my account balance changes - so in reality you just need to make sure you are on track for your lifestyle when you are aiming to reach retirement or planning to retire.

For those with the Roth - just remember you can only do that up to a certain income limit then you have to do the traditional IRA but income limits do go up every year as well as contributions limits.

Agree with the poster that stated while it may be nice to know that someone has X amount of dollars invested - it is in reality of the lifestyle you are planning to retire to. Two people each with just 5 years left before retirement - Person one makes 10k a year and have 100k invested so far - lifestyle will be better. Person two makes 100k a year and have just
100k invested then lifestyle will definitely be diminished.

Timing and market conditions are everything so I am hoping that we will meet our goal.

 

[TenThousandVolts]

The statistics on this thread are definately skewed. ... people who are 50 with $17,000 in retirement may be reluctant to post that info.

Steven

I think this is exactly why this poll is off. I have seen people get flamed on this board for poor money management time and again. Also a person who goes to WDW every year or two should have a pretty decent salary and saving potential. Good job to everyone on their savings. Especially you twentysomethings just starting out- I know it looks small at first- but you gotta start somewhere. Keep up the good work! Getting off to an early start is such a good thing.